Thanksgiving
by Bonasena
Summary: thanksgiving Neric fluffiness. I am from Europe and I miss American Thanksgiving and I miss some Sweet NEric fluffiness in Season 9. I apologize if some Americans think I totally missed the true American thanksgiving mood but this is inspired by my experience and my great memories of Thanksgiving. let me know what you think and if you think :) warning: mildly sexual suggestion.
1. Chapter 1

Thanksgiving

 _Am I the only one thinking WHERE IS THE SWEET NERIC FLUFF in Season 9? I feel like Mosley and Harley have totally ruined the opportunity for sweet Neric Fluff by bursting into OPS all the time._

 _So I don't really feel like there has been an inspiration to sweet Neric fluffiness in season 9 so I got some inspiration from the Thanksgiving episode from season 8._

 _I Am not American, but I had the great pleasure of experience American thanksgiving the last two years and now I am back in my European home country and MAN I miss American Thanksgiving. So, this is kind of my take on American Thanksgiving_

 **Neric thanksgiving talk**

 _This scene is before the episode starts. Before Eric and Deeks go to the boadsheet. So before the episode really starts._

Eric and Nell are sitting in OPS alone and working side by side as usual when Eric asks without looking away from his computer screen.

"what are your plans for Thanksgiving?" Eric looks over at her. "is your family coming or are you going home for Thanksgiving?"

Nell stops typing and looks at him.

"my mom, dad, my youngest brother and my 7-year-old nephew is coming to visit. The rest of my siblings must work or is spending the holiday with their wives' family. What about you? What are your plans for Thanksgiving?"

"I don't have any. My dad and my stepmom are going to my stepmoms parents and her family. I don't really like them."

Nell smiles at his reason for being alone on Thanksgiving.

"why not?"

"her nephews. My step-cousins are the kind of guys who made my high school a living hell. Not the kind of people I want to be thankful with. So, I think I am probably going surfing or something."

"so, you are alone on Thanksgiving?" Nell asks feeling sad for her partner. Eric nods.

"you could join me? With my family." Eric looks over at her with surprise. Nell feels embarrassed and pulls back. "you don't have to if you don't want to."

He starts smiling.

"I would love to."

"Yeah?" she asks and looks at him to make sure I don't feel obligated by the invitation. He smiles and nods and takes her hand in his.

"I would love to." She smiles.

"okay."

After the case is over.

Nell is packing up in OPS when Eric comes back from his day in the field.

"Hey there is my partner," Eric says. Nell turns around to look at him and smiles.

"hey. Welcome back. How was it in the field with Deeks?"

Eric hesitates. "it was okay. I missed my partner." He says with a nervous smile.

"you are sweet." She simply says and hands him his backpack that was standing on the floor next to his chair.

"you are ready to go?" she asks. He nods and they leave OPS together.

"so, Thanksgiving. Should I come over earlier and help with anything?

"we could go to my place and watch a movie tonight and then you could just stay for the night." She offers. When he doesn't say anything. she adds. "if you want to."

He smiles and leans his arm around her should and pulls her closer to him.

"sounds perfect but…" he stops halfway down the stairs. She looks up at him.

"can we stop at my place on the way so I can get some clean clothing?" she smiles.

"of the cause. Come on."

 **Nells apartment**

Eric and Nell are laying on the sofa and the newest Star Wars movie is on the tv. Nell is lying on her side with her head on his chest. He is laying on his back and has a pillow under his head so he can watch the movie over her. Her shirts have slid up on her lower back while they have been watching the movie. He is moving his fingertips in circles on the skin on her lower back.

"could you hand me some more popcorn?" he asks.

"nope." She says with no sign of teasing. "do it yourself. You are lazy."

He starts to try to sit op so she gets pushed off him.

"hey." She protests and sits up.

"you didn't want to give me some popcorn. So, I got them myself." He says and stuffs a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

"Yeah, but I was laying very comfortable. Then you started to move around." She complains.

"too bad." He says with a mouth full of popcorn.

"you are so annoying." She gives him am a little slap with a pillow.

"don't do that again." He warns her with a daring smile in his eyes. She smiles at him. They look straight into each other's eyes.

"don't…" he says.

"or what?" she dares him.

"you don't want to know."

She looks at the pillow.

"I guess I will." She says right before she hits him with the pillow again. He is still lying down on his back. She looks at him with a daring smile.

"you shouldn't have done that." He says while he slowly sits up and takes the pillow his head was resting on. They start a pillow fight.

"I thought you were a gentleman who doesn't hit girls.

"oh really. That is the best you got when you are losing." He says while they continue fighting.

"I am not losing to you, Beale."

After a few minutes, she seems to be winning when he leans over her and she is on her back and he holds her hands down by the wrist.

"who is losing, Jones?" he says while he is leaning over her in a dominant position.

"Okay, okay. You win this one." She surrenders. They look into each other's eyes. The mood has changed. He leans down and kisses her lightly on the lips. Then he looks into her eyes again he releases her hands and she leans her hand behind his neck and pulls him down for another kiss. This time longer and more passionate than the first. Within short time everything about movie, popcorn and pillow fight is forgotten.

Later Eric wakes up. The movie is over. The disc is just running the menu repeatedly. The TV is on mute. It is dark beside from the light coming from the TV. It takes some time before he realizes where he is and who it is that is breathing hot air on his bare chest. Then he looks down and sees the beautiful red hair spread over his chest and an arm hugging around his stomach. Her face is turning away from him. He doesn't want to wake her up. She is sleeping so peaceful. It takes some time for him to remember how he ended up naked under a blanket on the couch with his best friend. If it wasn't because he could look straight at her right now he would tell himself it was another one of his very inappropriate dreams that he had had about his partner. He was just relaxing and enjoying the peach and quiet and feeling her peach full breath against his chest when it hit him.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and he and Nell planned to celebrate the holiday together and not just the two of them but with her family. He has never been good with the meeting the parents-part of relationship. he and Nell aren't even in an official relationship. they are friends and partners and trust each other with their life. He looks down at his beautiful redhaired partner sleeping with her head on him. He just slept with his best friend and tomorrow he is going to face her parents. How could he be so stupid and putting himself in such an awkward situation? As I laid there I considered his options to get out of this sticky situation. He could only think of two different options. Number 1: he could sneak out of her before Nell wakes up and hoping Nell would remember what happened and everything would go back to normal like this never happened. Or if Nell did remember it would probably make him super angry with him and it would make him look like a terrible guy. The kind of guy who uses girls for his own good. And that is the last thing he wants Nell to think of him. The second option he could think off would be the one where he stays and tell Nell how he feels about meeting her parents after this and they could work things out together. Or she would laugh at him for being ridiculous about this whole meeting her parent thing. Considering the fact that, he has already met them where they pretended to be together, but Nell has told her parents afterward that they were not actually together. He looks down at Nell. She is still sound asleep. That gives him time to consider which option that he will choose before she wakes up. After look time of thinking, he decides to stick along. Nell being angry with him and thinking he is a terrible guy is much worst then meeting her parents the day after they have slept together.

After a couple of hours, Nell starts to slowly wake up. Eric moves slowly away from her and collects his clothing and goes to the bathroom. When he is prober dressed again he starts to clean up from their movie night. When he is done cleaning up he doesn't really know what to do with himself. She is asleep on the couch. she moves and the blanket almost sleeps down. He moves the cover over her again. He is just standing there looking at her slowly waking up. She looks up at him with a smile.

"what time is it?" she asks. He looks at his watch.

"almost 6 am."

"too early" Nell complains. She places her head face down on her pillow before she looks up at him again.

"how long have you been awake? She asks.

"a few hours." He takes a sip of the coffee he made earlier to pass the time until she woke up.

"I can make us some breakfast." He says.

"great I will go take a shower." She says and places her head back on the pillow.

After Nell is done with her shower she can hear Eric is rooming around in her kitchen. She enters the kitchen and sees Eric making pancakes. He is standing with his back to her flipping a pancake. She observes him for a moment before she enters the kitchen and walks over behind him and wraps her arms around him.

"morning. Did you sleep well?" she asks with a flirting tone.

Eric doesn't know what to say. He swallows hard before he answered. "yeah. Fine." Nell notices the hesitation in his voice. She let go of him and starts to set the table with plates and syrup and cups while he finishes the pancake. While they are eating there is an awkward silence between them. It is driving Nell crazy. She decides to give it some time. After breakfast, Eric takes a shower while Nell cleans up. They both need some time to think about what happened last night that could have made the other one act so strange.

After her shower, He gets dressed in some relaxing clothing. She and Eric have planned to prepare Thanksgiving dinner all day so he doesn't need to dress up. Her family will arrive at around 4 pm so he will have time to change into nicer clothing later. He will also have time to think about what to do in details before her family arrives.

Eric enters the Kitchen where Nell is waiting for him. She is playing on his Ipad.

"you want to get started with the food?" she asks him.

"yeah." She puts the iPad away and stands up. He does not make eye contact with her even once. They have to spend a lot of weekends together as friends over the years and prepared a lot of meals together and normally they move around each other smoothly. They are like two pendula clocks on a wall. Swinging perfectly together in sync. Normally they would work around each other in Nell's small kitchen but today they don't seem to be able to find their natural rhythm. They keep working on each other and standing in each other's ways. They normally listen to music or talk about their geeky fan stuff but today there is not conversation or music. Just silence. She can't take this any longer. She needs to know what happened last night that makes him so uncomfortable around her now. She has been chopping the sweet potatoes for the sweet mash potatoes and she will take a step back to go to the sink to wash her hands. He take a step back right into her.

"sorry." He apologies. Which is about the 15th time he has said that word while they been chopping vegetables. "stop." She sounds really annoyed. He is confused. Now he has made her upset too. She loves this holiday and he has ruined it for her. "I'm sorry Nell. I don't think this is a good idea." He is about to walk away but she stands in his way. She is not about to let him go until she finds out what made him so uncomfortable.

"what is going on Eric?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you so much for the comments so far. I really appreciate it. Please continue to review. It only encourages me to write more._

Eric Looks down at his hands. They are sweaty. He doesn't know what to say or what to do. She is just looking at him what an intense look. She wants to know, and he wants to tell her but he doesn't do how to tell her.

"tell me what is going on?" She begs him. He looks up and meets her eyes. Her sweet hazel eyes are begging him to tell her what is going on. He is nervous if he says the wrong thing he could screw this up forever and then he wouldn't just lust her as a potential girlfriend and his best friend but also his partner. The greatest reason he has to get up and go to work is that he knows he is going to sit right next to her.

"I'm nervous about meeting you, parents." He admits looking down at the floor again. His hands are sweaty. She smiles at him.

"but you have already met them. A few years back for Christmas. Remember?"

"I know but this is different." He says. She is confused.

"back then we pretended to be together. Now we are honest and tell them we are really good friends. You are nervous about being honest?" she asks him even more confused.

"yeah kinda." He admits. "it is different this time."

"why?" she asks.

"because of last night." He finally manages to bring up the big elephant in the room that they have been avoiding all day.

"do you regret what happened last night?" Nell asks. Eric is surprised about that question. He hadn't thought about that what he said could make it sound like that. She sounds hurt now.

"no, no, not at all." He assures her right away with no hesitation. That makes Nell releasing her breath that she didn't even realize she had been holding.

"then what about last night?" she asks with a soft almost whispering and takes his hands in hers.

"I am not good with the meeting the parent's thing. I never have."

Nell starts laughing.

"relax Eric. My parents know we are good friends. They know we spend a lot of time together."

Nell starts moving around in the kitchen again.

"it is not like they need to know that we are sleeping together." "actually." She stops and looks at him. He is now standing next to her at the cutting board again.

"not that anybody needs to know that."

"why? You are embarrassed about it. I'm mean. About sleeping with me?" he asks.

She looks surprised at him.

"no. of course not. I just don't think it is anybody's business." He smiles a little nervous.

"of course not."

He starts chopping vegetable again. She takes the knife away from him and turns him so he is facing her.

"I don't think it is anybody's business what we do together." She places a soft kiss on his lips and pulls away again. They smile at each other and leans in for a more passionate kiss this time.

"I don't think this is anybody's business either." He says when they finally pull away for air. They smile at each other and then continues preparing the meal. For the rest of the time they spend in the kitchen they move around each other in the usual smooth rhythm even though a hand might light slide across the other one's arm once in a while and they are standing a bit closer to each other than they usually would. Eric opens a bottle of wine and they have a glass each that they sip of while they are preparing the food.


	3. Chapter 3

_Note: I love seeing Nell in the field and especially together with Kensi. They make an awesome team. BUT I MISS NERIC!_

 _I got a comment about making wishes for my story. PLEASE YES: wish… like it was Christmas_ _?_

 _And I also got a comment about a Nell story about dating a bad boy – fun fact I have actually been thinking about a story about an ex-boyfriend of Nell's but haven't put anything on paper yet._

 _So please continue to review_ _?_

At around 3 pm et knocked on the door. By this time the turkey was in the oven. The sweet potatoes and the regular potatoes were boiling and pumpkin pie was almost ready. They both had time to change into their nice clothing and were now sitting cozily on the couch watching a movie that was on the tv. Nell went to open the door and her little 5-year-old nephew Sander almost attacked her with a big hug before he ran into the living room. Nell greeted her parents, her brother Tim and his teenage daughter Emily. Tim was Nells youngest brother. He was two years older than her. She has two more brothers, also older than her. Johnny and James. Johnny was a firefighter and has to work doing the holiday so his two kids and his wife had stayed home to celebrate the holiday with him when he got off his shift. Nell's other brother, James that was the oldest, wasn't married. Only to his job. He was in the navy and was deployed overseas on a navy vessel for a 6-month deployment.

When Nell finally reentered the living room followed by her parents and her brother and niece Eric was still sitting on the couch. But instead of watching the movie he was talking about Pokemon with Sander. Nell had noticed Sander had brought his collection of Pokemon cards. Sander was eager to show Eric all his favorite Pokemon and Eric, with the same eagerness, told Sander about each Pokemon special abilities. For a little while Nell, Tim, and their parents were just standing there admiring Eric and Sanders common interest in the collection cards. Emily came into the living room after she had used the bathroom.

"Wow, Sander you finally found someone who actually wants to listen to you talking about does stupid cards." The teenage girl said to her brother as she dumped down on the couch so the Pokemon cards Sander had placed on the couch jumped and a few of them fell on the floor.

"NO Emily. Don't do that." Sander yelled at his sister. Eric just quickly picked up the few cards that had landed on the floor.

"Sander Easy," Tim said.

"But Daddy. You saw what she did." Sander wined.

"yes I saw it but she just sat down on the couch. It was an accident." Tim said in his calm tone and the young boy knew he wouldn't get his father to take his side. Sander signed heavily with the accept of the lost battle against his older sister. Sander went back to the Pokemon cards but instead of listening to Sander Eric stood up to properly meet Nell's parents and her brother. Eric had actually forgotten all about meeting her parents after their conversation earlier everything just felt so much more relaxed and then Sander and his Pokemon cars. Something that Eric liked and he could talk about that didn't make him feel awkward. Eric had a really good feeling about this. He stood up and walked over to Mr. and Mrs. Jones.

Mom, Dad you remember my friend Eric?" Nell said. Eric recognized the slight nervous tone of her voice.

"we sure do. It is great to see you, Agin Eric. How you been." Nell's father John said and shook Eric's hand.

"Hello, sir." Eric greeted.

"Oh, Eric. We are way past sir. You can just call me John." The older man said with a warm nice smile.

"okay, si… sorry, John." He had to get used to the less formal tone in Nell's family. In his family, it would always be sir and ma'am. Eric greeted Mrs. Jones that he was informed to just address as Millie. after the parents it was Tim. Nell's brother. Nell had warned Eric. Tim was the toughest judge of every member of her family when it came to guys in her life. That wasn't exactly comforting for Eric when Nell had told him that earlier in the afternoon. Tim looked at Eric with a look that Reminded Eric of his father who was a former Major in the Marines. That look had always made Eric uncomfortable.

"Well…" Tim seemed to be considering very carefully what to say next which just made poor Eric even more uncomfortable. "normally I would not accept any guy within 20 feet of my sister…" he said looking very strict at Eric. "but…" Tim started to smile. " a man who makes my sister happy and… who wants to talk about those cards with my son… is good enough for my sister." Tim finally said and shook Eric's hand. Eric starts smiling too. Nell and her parents started laughing.

"you are such a jerk. Timmy." Nell said while wrapping her arms around Eric and learning her head against his cheats. Normally… well until this morning that would have made Eric very uncomfortable in front of other people, but now. Eric had a really good feeling about this Thanksgiving.


	4. Chapter 4

_I apologize for the late update. I am super busy with a big project at the university right now._

 _my comment_ _about episode s9e7 – I LOVED THE DENSI storyline BUT… Where is NERIC! Well, I have seen the preview from next week (FYI: the 200_ _th_ _episode_ _?_ _) and Nell's sister, Sidney is coming in. From the preview, she doesn't seem like a very likable person but I will give her chance._

 _Thank you so much for your reviews and So please continue to review_ _?_

Nell's mother helps Nell finishing up the food and Tim, John and Eric are setting the table and Sander is setting op all his Pokemon card so he can tell Eric every detail he knows about every Pokemon after dinner. Sometimes Sander finds a Pokemon he finds so special that he has to tell Eric about it right away and he walks out into the kitchen where Nell and her mother is walking around each other while Tim, Eric, and John is trying to navigate around them without bothering the to ladies. Sanders contribution to a lot of people in Nell's small kitchen is not a good thing so Tim ends up telling Sander to go back to the living room and sit down.

In the meantime, Nell realizes that she forgot the whipped cream for the pumpkin pie.

"Hey, Eric could you run down to the store and buy some cream? I forgot it for the pumpkin pie." Nell asks Eric.

"sure." Nell notice that Eric immediately grabs his phone from the table and walks to the entrance hall to put on his shoes and jacket.

"could you do it in less than an hour?" Nell is standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the entrance hall.

"Oh, all right," Eric says sounding disappointed that his plan didn't work. Nell just shakes her head in disbelief and walk back to the kitchen.

" he is unbelievable," Nell says.

"what?" her mom asks.

"the only way that I can get him to take a walk anywhere if he plays Pokemon go at the same time. He always does that when he goes grocery shopping. That was why he grabbed his phone. While Nell talked to her mom Sander was standing in the door. Hearing every word Nell said. Sander runs to the entrance hall where Eric is fixing his scarf.

"can I come with you?" Sander asks.

"I'm just going to the grocery store."

"yeah, but can I come with you?" Sander sound very enthusiastic.

"sure. Have you asked your father?" Eric asks. Before Eric can finish his question Sander has run into the kitchen.

"Daddy, can I go with Eric?" Sander asks.

"why? You don't like going grocery shopping." Tim says. Wondering what his son is up to.

"no, but I want to go with Eric.

"does it has anything to do with Pokemon go?" Nell asks.

"no." the little boy says. Trying his absolute best not to let Nell know but Nell knows her nephew.

"you are busted, Sander," Nell says.

"but I love to play Pokemon go."

Eric comes into the kitchen.

"are you coming, Sander?" Eric asks. Looking around at the adults.

"is it okay with you to bring him?" Tim asks.

"sure," Eric says.

"go put on your shoes, jacket, hat, and gloves," Tim orders his son. Sander runs to the entrance hall and rush to put on his shoes and coat.

"I wish he was that fast when he goes to school," Tim says more to himself than anyone else.

"Apparently you should just tell him he can play that game." Nell's mom says.

"is that why he wants to come with me?" Eric asks. "because of Pokemon go?"

Nell nods. "I think he overheard me saying you play Pokemon go when you go grocery shopping.

"I'm ready." Sander is now standing next to Eric. His jacket is buttoned crooked, his shoes are not tied, his hat is inside out along and his gloves on the wrong hand.

"Sander looks at your self," Tim says.

"What?" sander looks down at himself. Then looking up at his dad. Confused about his dad's disappointed look.

"you need to fix your coat, tie your shoes, fix your hand and put your gloves on the right hand. Sander signs heavily.

"that takes so long daddy."

"let me help you." Eric says kneeling down next to Sander. "if you fix your hand and your gloves I'll help you with your shoes and coat." Eric says and starts tiering Sanders shoes. Nell never knew how great Eric is with kids. When he was home with her for Christmas, he didn't interact much with her nice and nephews. He mostly stayed close to her. Now she notices how cute he is when he interacts with Sander. It makes Nell blush thinking about how adorable her best friend/partner or whatever they call their thing right now. She turns away from it hoping nobody notices. When Sanders clothing is fixed to his father's satisfaction Eric and Sander are ready to go. Eric does not close the front door before Sander asks if Eric has a device so they can play Pokemon go. It makes the adults in the kitchen laugh.

"that kid is unbelievable," Tim says.

"he is your son," John says and pads his son on the shoulder. The two men walk into the living room to take a rest while Nell and her mom stay in the kitchen.

"so what is going on with the two of you?" Nell had hoped she could avoid that question.

"nothing," Nell answered and starts moving around in the kitchen. Pretending to do something.

"come on Nell. You like that guy. He is a great man, and…" Nell stops to look at her mom. "he likes you."

"we are just friends mom," Nell says.

"two years ago. You said that you two were just pretending to be a couple."

"we were, mom." Nell cuts of her mom.

"I don't believe that. The only people you two are fooling is your self. Everyone else can see that you two are perfect for each other."

"mom, stop. We are friends. He is like a brother to me." Nell insists.

"if you say so." Her mom grabs a bowl with snacks and walks to the living room. Nell stays in the kitchen. Thinking about what she just said. The last sentence echoing in her head. _he is like a brother to me._ Is that really how she sees him? She kissed him last night. They slept together. Like a brother? She had to stop thinking about it and figure out what to do about her relationship with Eric. He was her best friend. She spends so many hours a day in OPS. He cares about her and when she sustained a minor injury from a bomb blast just a few month back, he had told her he was worried to death about losing her. Was that something a brother would say? Definitely not her brothers. He was so more than just a brother to her. But then why did she tell her mother he was just a brother to her? She diffidently needed to talk to Eric about this. Even though they never really talked about deep things like that.

Nell grabs a bowl with some more snacks and walks to the living room to join her family while she Tries to forget her conversation with her mom.


	5. Chapter 5

_I am planning on 1 more chapter maybe 2. I am planning on adding a little plotline to this story about the "date" mentioned in the Christmas episode about the Dickens fair._

 _SOON EPISODE "200_ _th_ _is coming up_ _?_ _I'm SO EXCITED!_

 _As always please let me know what you think. Leave a comment_

The dinner is served and everyone takes a seat at the table. Sander insists on sitting next to his new best friend, Eric. Nell thinks it is sweet that her nephew loves Eric already. Eric doesn't seem to mind the admiration from the young boy.

After they have eaten the turkey, there is a tradition in Nell's family that everyone says what they are grateful for. Sander goes first. He is thankful for his mom and dad and for Pokemon go. The adults can't help but smile at Sander, but his sister tells him he gotta be serious. She says he can't be thankful for Pokemon go. Their father stops them before they turn it into one of their usual arguments that usually ends with Sander crying. Emily is thankful for her family. Tim is thankful for his kids and the rest of his family and his job and that he lives in a peaceful world. Then it is Nell's turn. She has to think about what she is thankful for. There is a lot of things. Like, he is thankful for her family of cause but the things that pop in her head first is that Kensi survived the helicopter crash and that she is out of her coma and hopefully soon will be back at the office. She is thankful for that Hetty came back after her chess move against undersecretary of the defense Ducan. Thankful to be in the field with Deeks or Granger as her partner, despite the reason that she is getting her chance now. Of cause thankful for working with the most amazing and supportive team. And for her partner/friend or whatever he is. She cant say that, since her parents don't know what she is really doing for a living, so she goes with that she is thankful for her friends and family.

Eric looks at Nell with a sweet smile. He knows what she means with her friends. Of cause, she was thinking of Kensi, Deeks, and Hetty. Eric takes her hand under the table and gives it a little squeeze to tell her that he knows what she really means. The look between them doesn't go unnoticed by Nells parents. Then it is Eric's turn. What he really want to say that he is super thankful for what happened between him and Nell the night before, BUT… he knows that would be a terrible idea. He also thinks about other things that he is thankful for this year like… that Nell is okay after the bomb blast a few month back, thankful that Kensi survived the helicopter crash and that she is out of her coma and hopefully soon will be back at the office. That the entire team and that Hetty is back and hopefully soon everything will be back to normal, so he can get his partner back on full time, Kensi will be back in the field with Deeks and Hetty and Granger will be back without anyone has to worry about that crazy mole. Most importantly thankful for his friendship/partnership and whatever it is he has with Nell. Of cause he can't say that so he choose the safe choice and go with that he is thankful for his friends, family, and his job. Which basically covers it. Nell gives him that sweet smile again. It is melting his heart every time she does that.

After Nells Parents has told what they are grateful for which is similar to Tims, they clean out the turkey from the table. As soon as Nell and her mother followed by Tim and John have left the living room, Sander jumps off his chair and back to his Pokemon cards. Eric stays seated at the table with Emily as his only company.

"so are you Nell's boyfriend or something?" Emily asks looking up from her cellphone.

"Hm… more like or something." Eric answer honestly.

"so it is kinda undetermined?" Emily asks.

"yeah, you can say that.

"most girls don't like that you know. When guys can make a decision about whether or not they want to be with a girl." Emily stands up from her chair. Before she leaves the living room to go to the bathroom. She looks back. "I'm just saying, man," Emily says right before she disappears out into the hallway and into the bathroom. Leaving Eric to think about his "relationship" with Nell. They haven't really talked about what is going on between them. Maybe that is why Nell doesn't want to mention the word "relationship"?.

Eric is ripped out of his train of thoughts when Sander asks him to look at a Pokemon card. Eric looks towards the door leading to the kitchen where he can hear Nell's voice. "I definitely need to sort this thing out." He thinks to himself before he pushes away the thoughts about Nell and focus on Sander and the lecture about Pokemon until the dessert wil be ready.


	6. Chapter 6

After the desert Sander and Emily walks over to the couch to watch their favorite movie, Elf. Tim jokes about that, that is the only thing over the entire year that his two kids actually agrees.

"they are not so bad, Tim," Millie says. They all look over at Sander and Ellie. Sander is resting his head on Emily's legs. She is running her finger through his curly hair.

"they look a lot like you guys when you little," Millie says remembering when her two youngest children were little.

"no, they don't mom. Because Sander is being nice to his sister. I don't remember this guy ever being nice to me." Nell stands up and grabs the empty foil tray where the pumpkin pie was served in and walks towards the kitchen. She turns around in the door. "not even on Thanksgiving or Christmas."

"come on peanut. It is not that bad." Tim ads with a laugh.

"Peanut?" Eric asks. He never liked when someone underestimated Nell based on her physical appearance. If he had learned anything from working with Hetty and Nell over the years. It was to never underestimate a small woman.

"why are you calling her that?"

"why?" Tim asks still laughing.

"just because she is physically small doesn't mean you should underestimate her abilities," Eric says.

"come on man. I have been fighting with her since we were kids and she has never managed to kick my but. me on the other hand. I can't even count how many times I have kicked her butt and she had run screaming into mom and dad."

"the reason why you can't count that is that you are not smart enough for that." Nell reappears in the living room.

"Oh, well played. The genius card."

"I might win on the hight but… I win on IQ, beauty and not to mention I actually know how to live in the 21st century where technology is quite common." Nell clearly wins that one.

"dad can't even use the GPS on his phone. And he has a 5s. he doesn't even have an updated version." Emily comments from the couch.

"whose side are you on young lady?" Tim asks.

"just saying, dad," Emily says and comes over to the table and grabs her glass with soda.

"Nell, can I bring it to the coffee table?" Emily asks.

"sure. Just be careful." Emily nods and brings her glass to the coffee table. Millie and Eric help Nell cleaning out the dessert. After that, all the adults join the kids in front of the tv. While everyone is focussing on the movie Eric slips his arm around Nell and she snuggles into his side resting her head against his chest. Sander falls asleep with his head on his dad's legs while Emily is snuggled up to her dad's side. Also, Nell's parents are sitting close to each other John has his arm around his wife. Eric really enjoys spending Thanksgiving with Nell and her family. In his family, it would have ended up in one big fight between him and his sister or between his sister and his dad. The most likely argument would be between him and his stepmother. He never really got along with her. Maybe that is why he never really liked spending the holidays with his family since his mother died. Since he joined NCIS he always loved when he could spend the holiday with the team instead of with his family. The best holiday was 2 years ago when he went home with Nell to her family for Christmas.

Eric is snapped out of his thoughts when the movie ends. He realizes Nell almost fall asleep.

"Nell sweety I think we should get home soon." Millie says. "you were almost asleep and Emily and Sander are sleeping too. "

Eric turns off the tv while Tim is waking up Emily so he can go get Sanders shoes and jacket. Tim puts on Sanders shoes and Jacket while Sander is asleep on the couch. Tim knows from past experience, that if he wakes up Sander now he is not going to sleep for a few hours after they get home. Emily, John, and Millie get ready to go home while Tim prepares Sander and soon they are ready to say they goodbyes and head for the car.

Nell walked her family to their car. Tim places his sleeping son in his seat and Emily jumps in the back of the big car.

"goodbye, sis. See ya soon." Tim says and hugs his sister before he gets in the car.

"goodbye, Nell. Thank for a great evening. It was so good to see you. We don't see you often enough." Her father says and hugs his daughter.

"Goodbye, dad. I love you. I promise I will come visit soon." Nell says, knowing that that is a promise she can't keep. "I love you too, sweet girl." Her dad says gives her a quick kiss on the top of her head as he always did when she was little. before he jumps in the driver's seat. Her mom has been busy putting stuff in the trunk. Nell walks over to her at the back of the car.

"Nel, sweety. We don't see you often enough."

"I know mom." The bad conscience drill into Nell's heart. She knew when she moved to Los Angeles that she wouldn't get to see her parents so often, but she didn't think it would be as difficult as it is to actually get home for the holidays at least.

"Well, at least you got a really great boyfriend."

"mom, I told you. He is not my boyfriend."

Millie gives her those eyes that Nell recognize way too well from when she was a kid and she lied to her mom.

"Sweety." Millie places her hands on Nells face and looks right into her eyes. "the only person you are fooling with that lie is your self. I saw how you two were snuggling with each other doing the movie."

Nell has to admit to her self that that might have been a bit obvious.

"mom, we are really good friends. I don't know if…"

"Grandma comes on," WMily yells from the back of the car interrupting, Nell. "Shh… don't wake up your brother," exclaims Tim

"I'm coming." Millie responds to the teenage girl. Millie hugs Nell and gives her a kiss on the cheek before she gets in the car and Nell watch them drive away before she gets back inside.

When she comes back the coffee table is cleaned. Nell hears Eric is rooming around in the kitchen. When she enters the kitchen she sees Eric is almost done placing everything in the dishwasher.

"you know you don't have to do that, right?" she says while she walks over to him. He wraps his arms around her.

"I know. I wanted to."

"thanks." She says leaning her head against his chest. Eric can feel she is learning heavier against him.

"if you are falling asleep you should get to bed.

"no, I'm not." She takes a step away from him and looks around the kitchen. There are still a few things that need to be done.

"this can wait until tomorrow." She says.

"you sure?" Eric asks. "if you are too tired to do it, I can just quickly do it." He offers.

"no." she walks towards the living room. "come on let's watch a movie together." She turns off the light in the kitchen, leaving Eric in the dark and leaving him no choice to finish the cleanup. He follows her into the living room where she has found their favorite movie to watch together.

"Star Wars?" He asks seeing the first trilogy on the coffee table." "which one?" he asks. Noticing that all the cases are in the box still, leaving him no clue which one. She grabs the remote and takes a seat on the couch. He is just standing there waiting for her to tell him what to do.

"come on." She pads the couch next to her to tell him to take a takes a seat next to her and she snuggles under his arm again like she did earlier in the evening. Eric recognizes by the menu on the disc that it is star wars the empire strikes back, which is Erics absolute favorite movie. Nell is ready to push the play button when Eric grabs her hand.

"Nell wait. There is something I want to ask you about first." He sits out. Distance himself fra her a bit so he can look at her. She sits up. Confused about his sudden change in behavior.

"I was thinking… maybe… you know…"

"spit it out." Nell interrupts his rambling. He looks at her to figure out if she just got mad at him, but it doesn't seem like it.

"Hm… maybe if you wanted to… you know the Charles Dickens fair around Christmas? Maybe if you want to go with me to that?" he asks. Why more nervous than when he asks her to go for breakfast or to a zombie movie marathon or something else.

"sure." She says and snuggles into him again.

"really?" he asks not quite sure he heard right. She looks up at him.

"yes, I want to go with. It's gonna be fun." She grabs his hand and places it on her arm and they settle into the movie. Eric can't stop smiling.

 _Did I actually just ask Nell on a date? Wait I did say it was a date? I think I did. We are going on a real date._

 _E_ ric thinks to himself right before the classical sound of Star wars starts.

This is the Best Thanksgiving EVER!

Happy Thanksgiving

 _So this is actually supposed to be the end. I do… however, have an idea for a short scene set at the end of the Christmas episode (s8e10). Let me know what you think. Should I add one last chapter to this story?_


	7. a date?

**Note: sorry it has been a while since I last updated my story. I have been SUPER Busy with studying. I have a few comments on season 9 so far.**

 **GET MOSELY OUY! I mean seriously, what is she Even doing on the show? She doesn't fit into the show. And Harley Hidoko she is just there to take over Nell and Annas spot in the field. That episode where Sam and Hidoko were trapped inside an interrogation room and almost got burned. THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN NELL and Sam. I REALLY DON'T LIKE THEM!**

 **BRING HETTY BACK!**

 **Nell and Anna in the field instead of Mosley and Hidoko.**

 **Not all shitstorm: I like the storylines so far and I Loved the 200** **th** **episode and the storyline with Nell's sister. And the finish up storyline with Joelle.**

 **This is the last chapter of my Thanksgiving story. Hope you enjoy it. Please comment.**

 **Post scene in the armory with Eric and Kensi.**

Eric and Kensi walk out of the armory together.

"so do you any exciting plans for Christmas? Kensi asks Eric as they walk into the hallway.

"actually." Eric stops. He has a big smile on his face. "I am going on a date." Kensi looks surprised at her friend.

"really oh my god that is so great Eric. With who?" Kensi is happy for her friend.

"hmm.. actually…" Eric starts getting nervous. "with Nell." Kensi looks surprised.

"really?" Kensi realizes that her response didn't sound right. "I'm so happy for you two. It didn't know you two was a thing."

"we are not. I just asked her out over Thanksgiving. So we will see how it goes. I mean… I hope it goes well… I really like her."

Kensi places a hand on his should.

"I think it is going to be great. You two are really amazing together."

"thanks, Kens. That means a lot." Eric gets a text from Nell. She needs him back in ops.

"sorry, I gotta go. Well, you be at the party tonight?" Eric asks before he has to rush up to ops.

"sure."

"I'll see you then," Eric says before he runs up the stairs to ops. Kensi is left in the hallway smiling, thinking about Eric and Nell on a net. It actually makes sense.

 **Post episode at the Christmas party**

After Kensi's little daydream about kicking Annas ass, everyone seems to enjoy the Christmas party. Well, maybe almost everyone. Kensi has noticed Eric seems less joyed at the party then he usually does at the office Christmas party. He is usually the one that just keeps going. Nell, on the other hand, seems to enjoy the party very much. Kensi walks over to Nell, who is standing at the table with the eggnog. "want a glass Kens?" Nell asks while she is pouring a glass for her self.

"yes please," Kensi says and hands Nell her empty glass. Nells fills up Kensis cup and the walk over to the staircase and takes a seat on the stairs.

"so are you going on the date?" Kensi asks with a teasing smile. Nell look confused at her.

"what are you talking about? I am not going on any date."

"don't worry I haven't told anyone about it so you don't have to hide it," Kensi says with a teasing smile.

"I honestly don't know what you are talking about, Kens," Nell says.

"your big date with Eric." Kensi nods towards Eric who is sitting on the couch talking with a tech guy. Nell look confused.

"what are you talking about. We are not going on a date."

"didn't he ask you to go with him to some Christmas thing?" Kensi asks, now confused about Eric's excitement when he earlier in the day had told Kensi about his date with Nell.

"yes the Charles Diggens fair, but… we are not going because I have been accepted to a mentorship program that starts in the weekend."

"that explains why he doesn't look very excited anymore," Kensi says.

"but it wasn't a date. We were just going to hang out as friends." Nell explains.

"he never said it was a date, did he?" Kensi asks. Knowing all to well her goofy, geeky friend in OPS."

"no, he didn't," Nell says. Feeling a little embarrassed about dumping Eric, when he had finally worked up the courage to ask her out. Even though he hadn't really told her it was a date." I can't believe he asked me on a date, without actually asking me on a date." Nell says.

"you know. Deeks did that to me too, you know. He asked me if I wanted to grab something to eat after work and he took me to a really nice restaurant instead of the usual burger place." Kensi and Nell start laughing about their partner's inability to really ask a girl out.

"well…" Nell says when she stops laughing. "that would explain why he took it so hard when I told him I couldn't go. He took it harder then he usually does."

"he really likes you, Nell. It took him a long time to work up the courage to actually ask you out. He thought he didn't really do it. I think he really seriously meant it." Kensi places her arm around Nell.

"I know. And I screwed up. I dought he is going to give it a second chance." Nell sounds sad.

"you should ask him," Kensi says. Nell look confused at Kensi.

"I'm serious. It is the 21. Century. A girl can ask a guy out." Kensi says. Nell nods. Maybe she should try and make it up to him for dumping him.

"I guess," Nell says.

"and without more eggnog." Kensi takes away Nell's glass. She already feels a little light headed. It is probably not a good idea to get more eggnog, before making it up to Eric. Nell looks over at Eric who is now standing at the buffet talking with Anna, Callen, Deeks, and Sam. "come on. You can take down bad guys twice your size. You can do this." Nell nods.

"okay." They both stand up and walk over to their colleagues. Nell walks over behind Eric and grabs his hand to get his attention. "I need to talk to you." Eric nods and they walk away from the rest of the group. They walk up the stairs to find a private spot.

"whats up?" Eric asks still smiling at a joke Deeks just told them before Nell and Kensi came over.

"you know Deeks just told us this really funny…" "Eric." Nell cuts him off before he gets to finish.

"yeah. What is going on? You are making me nervous." He says looking at his hesitant friend. He is usually the nervous one in their friendship.

"I just talked to Kens."

"year I saw that. It is great to have her back."

"about you." Eric looks confused at her. He is used to it is never a good thing when two girls talk about him. "she told me that us, going to the Dickens fair was supposed to be…" Nell finds it difficult to actually say the word. " a date." She finishes. Eric is embarrassed. Realizing that he didn't actually ask Nell on a date and that she had to hear it from Kensi. Kensi? That probably meant that Deeks knew too. And soon everyone in the office would know that he couldn't even ask a girl on a date without forgetting to tell her it was a date.

"I'm sorry Nell. I totally understand you don't want to go with me when I screw up like that. I… I should have told you it was a date. I'm sorry."

"I didn't cancel because I didn't want to go. I only canceled because of the mentorship program."

"don't worry I won't ask you again." He clearly didn't hear what she just said.

"Eric." Nell takes his hand to cut off his nervous blabbing.

"I really do want to go."

He looks up from his feet that he has been staring at. "wait you mean… you actually want to go on a date with me?" there is a tiny bit of hope in his voice.

"yes." A big smile spreads on his face.

"Kensi told me had told her about it." Eric feels a little embarrassed about telling Kensi.  
"Well… it was just."

"it is okay." Nell gives him a big hug. "so what do you have plans for the new year. Maybe we could spend new years eve together." Eric breaks the hug and looks surprised at Nell.

"Are you asking me out?" He asks surprised.

"it is the 21. Century a girl can ask a guy out, you know." Nell uses Kensis word and smiles at Eric. Eric doesn't answer right away. "or are you an old-school fashion kind of guy who can't let a girl ask you out?" Nell teases him to make him stop staring at her.

"no not at old. I would love to spend new years eve with you on a real date." He says with a big smile and emphasizes the word date.

"then that is a date," Nell says to seal the deal. Shortly after they share a big hug, Kensi yells at them to come down and share some eggnog with the rest of the team. Nell and Eric walk down the stairs together. Eric carefully places his hand on Nells back. She doesn't seem to mind. He has a good feeling about the new year to come.


End file.
